As a Wi-Fi technology is widely applied, intelligent terminals that gradually become popular all support the Wi-Fi technology. In this case, a Wi-Fi-based indoor positioning application is gradually becoming a possibility. A working process of positioning may be as follows.
First, an access point (AP) sends a positioning configuration request frame to a terminal, where the positioning configuration request frame includes information such as a channel, a multicast address, and a period. The channel refers to a channel that is used by the terminal to send a location track notification frame. The multicast address is a group address of a group of APs that receive the location track notification frame, and the group of APs may be one or more APs. The period is a period for the terminal to send the location track notification frame.
Second, the terminal sends a positioning configuration response frame to the AP, where the positioning configuration response frame indicates acceptation or refusing of a positioning configuration request. When accepting the positioning configuration request, the terminal sends the location track notification frame to the AP. Finally, the AP calculates a location of the terminal according to the location track notification frame.
A frame header of the location track notification frame sent by the foregoing terminal includes a Media Access Control (MAC) address of the terminal and a MAC address of the AP, and the MAC address of the terminal is an identifier of the terminal. If the terminal always uses a fixed MAC address, that is, uses a fixed identifier, in the location track notification frame, it results in that a moving track of the terminal is traced. Because there is a one-to-one correspondence between the address of the terminal and a user that holds the terminal, the moving track of the terminal may be regarded as a moving track of the user. When the moving track of the terminal is traced, in practical terms, the moving track of the user is traced. As a result, location privacy of the user that holds the terminal is not protected.
In addition, an effective propagation distance of a Wi-Fi message is usually about 100 meters. If a Wi-Fi message of a terminal is intercepted, it means that a user that holds the terminal is near a listener. Therefore, even though the terminal does not perform the foregoing positioning process, once the terminal sends a Wi-Fi message, a fixed address, used by the terminal, included in the message discloses location privacy of the user.